1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to food preparation serving devices and more particularly, to a portable cutting board receptacle tray system wherein the cutting board platform is mountable upon a drip pan tray receptacle.
2. Description of Related Art
Cutting boards are platforms for supporting food items to be cut and sliced. Cutting boards are typically constructed of a wood or synthetic material such as acrylic.
Cutting boards are normally placed upon a table top surface to provide support while cutting a food item such as turkey. Since the cutting board is placed between the table top and the food item during cutting, the cutting board protects the table top from abrasions and lacerations.
The utensils used to cut or slice the food article must slice completely through the food article and oftentimes will slice the platform upon which the item is sitting. The cutting board prevents the cutting tools from damaging the table top surface.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical cutting board used within the prior art. The illustrated cutting board is a wood platform 1 which provides a surface 2 for supporting a food article. The bottom surface 3 of the cutting board 1 sits directly upon a tabletop (not shown) for support.
Oftentimes, the cutting board 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be used to cut succulent food articles such as cooked meats, fruit, etc., which will provide juices and drippings. The top surface 2 of the cutting board illustrated in FIG. 1, provides a drainage system for juices using tortuous paths of aqueducts 4 which allow the juices to flow away from the center of the cutting board to provide a neat and organized cutting surface. These aqueducts 4 may overflow and force the juices to flow off the cutting board as shown by arrow 5, and onto the tabletop surface (not shown).
Cutting boards as shown in FIG. 1 generally do not allow food articles to be cut directly in a dining area, but instead require that the food article be cut away from the dinning area in the food service and preparation area. This is a problem since many people enjoy having a serving presentation or a cutting ceremony to provide for a more enjoyable dining experience.
If the cutting board 1 is used during serving to the diners, the dining area may become messy with juices and drippings and uncomfortable for dining. Additionally, by providing a cutting board as illustrated in FIG. 1, much of the drippings and juices are drained away and lost. Thus, the cutting board of FIG. 1 cannot adequately be used to preserve all the juices and drippings which are tasty, edible and preferable to be used for serving.
Furthermore, since the cutting board shown in FIG. 1 becomes messy, it is not desirable to use that cutting board for serving. Prepared food products which have been cut and sliced must therefore be transferred to a special serving tray for serving. It is not appropriate to cut food articles directly within a formal serving tray since the serving tray may be damaged by the cutting tools and the tray may have walls which make cutting difficult.